jarrodmcdonald-1 Maybe someone can explain the purpose of the other male hostage from the train. He is basically there to step in front of Cooper and take a bullet for him, but why do the outlaws let him stay alive so long? What purpose does he really serve them? It is easy to see they would want the girl, but why keep a guy around that they have to feed?. Let's look at the female hostage (Julie London). After she is forced to strip, there is a classic moment when Gary Cooper's character humiliates Jack Lord's character to get even for what had been done to her. That is probably one of the high points of the entire film (especially if you're a feminist).The scenes in town toward the end of the picture conveniently manage to get by without having to show a lot of extras or townspeople in the background. As a result, it gives the story and our man of the west a more isolated feel.There are many excellent things about this motion picture. It is so good that we can overlook the flaws, especially the miscasting of Lee J. Cobb as a father figure to the long-in-the-tooth Gary Cooper.

Scott LeBrun Intelligent, heartfelt Western / character study has an interesting tale to tell about a man who looks forward, intent on what his next phase in life will be, but finds that he will be utterly unable to escape the stigma of his past (a common enough theme in the Western genre). A rock solid ensemble of actors fill out a bare minimum of principal cast members, which helps to give "Man of the West" a somewhat intimate feel while at the same time making it somewhat epic. The California scenery is beautiful (naturally) and the widescreen photography is as impressive as one will ever see in this sort of thing. Leigh Harline's music is also wonderful. But the glue that holds it all together is a nuanced, low key performance by legendary actor Gary Cooper as the man who is conflicted in thought and emotion, as fate interrupts his journey.He plays Link Jones, a man travelling by train to hire a schoolteacher, and who incidentally is a former outlaw trying to forget his shady past. Unfortunately, a group of bandits attempts to rob the train, and it moves on, leaving Jones and two others stranded in its wake. His two new acquaintances are Billie Ellis (Julie London), a singer who just so happens was trained as a teacher, and the garrulous Sam Beasley (an amiable Arthur O'Connell). After a bit of walking, they come upon an isolated farmhouse where Jones says he spent his younger days. He thinks they will find shelter here, but instead he finds his old gang, led by the blustery Dock Tobin (Lee J. Cobb), the unconventional father figure of Jones's past. Tobins' gang contains the mute Trout (Royal Dano), the slow-witted Ponch (Robert J. Wilke), and the aggressive, depraved Coaley (an eerily effective Jack Lord). Jones reluctantly agrees to rejoin this bunch of men, but you can be certain he's not happy about the arrangement."Man of the West", during its release, didn't attract that much attention despite the efforts of the great Western director Anthony Mann; it took the complimentary words of French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard (a critic at the time) to help it start to attain a classic status. Mann does an excellent job with the storytelling (the script is by Reginald Rose, based on a novel by Will C. Brown), and gets fine performances out of Cooper and Cobb. In reality, Cobb was 10 years *younger* than Cooper, but he's reasonably convincing as the ill-intentioned mentor. Wilke, Dano, and John Dehner as Claude are very watchable, although it's a shame that Dano's character is mute given what a memorable voice the actor had. Lord is perfectly despicable playing a man who's a real piece of work (he forces Billie to strip at one point).The finale could have used a bit more tension, but otherwise this works pretty well. It doesn't miss an opportunity for comedy as we see how Jones reacts to seeing, and riding on, a train, a new experience to him. Western lovers should find it to be satisfactory.Seven out of 10.

moonspinner55 Anthony Mann directed this surprisingly tough (for its era) and gritty western about an ex-outlaw (Gary Cooper) who, along with a card-sharp and a pretty woman, is left stranded after gun-toting thieves rob a train, only to end up taking refuge with the bloodthirsty gang--his former partners, led by his uncle. Screenwriter Reginald Rose, adapting Will C. Brown's book "The Border Jumpers" (a better title!), appears to have been given free reign in regards to the adult content of the story, and some of the sequences--particularly a nasty one wherein knife-wielding Jack Lord commands Julie London to strip in front of the men--are unsettling. Cooper is too old for the lead, and his budding relationship with London seems to bloom off-screen (at first she's a wise, jaded cookie, but too soon becomes the proverbial lovestruck female, turned soft by her victimization). Ernest Haller's cinematography is excellent, as is Leigh Harline's score, but the picture is almost overwhelmed by its own unpleasantness, and by Lee J. Cobb's growling, snarling performance as Cooper's grizzled relative. ** from ****

LeonLouisRicci Another of Director Anthony Mann's Offbeat, Violent, Existential, Psychological Films that was an Exception to the Rule of the 1950's Glut of Movie and TV Westerns. A Testament to the Genre's Archetype stature and its ability to Penetrate the Subconscious and Stimulate the Senses.Gary Cooper Stars and the Director is Darkly Brutal in this Tale of past Sins and Redemption. Julie London is an aging Songbird who has Never Known Love and has been a Pawed and Petted by Men since She was Fourteen. The Evil Clan from Cooper's Past that rears its Ugly Head and Haunts the Reformed Outlaw is a Motley Crew in the form of Lee J. Cobb, Jack Lord, Royal Dano, and Others.The Character of Link, as in missing, is the Bridge Between the Savage and the Civilized, the Epoch when Man developed a Soul of Self-Consciousness and a "Link" from Head to Heart. But with Free Will, some choose to Ignore the Evolutionary Process and Hedonistic-ally continued their Evil Ways. The fact that "Link" Wavers from his chosen "Good" Lifestyle when He becomes in Contact with the Influences of his Primal Past is another indication that the Struggle is Ongoing and the Temptation to Regress is Intensely Influential. This is one of the Best Westerns and cannot be under Appreciated for its Anti-Establishment Stance and came to be a Precursor of the Peckinpah and Leone Style of Realism and Myths. An Adult Western that is not easy viewing. It is a Mirror of Man that Reflects a Sharp, Unfiltered, Image of the Human condition Not Found in most Westerns, or most Movies for that matter. When forced into Humiliation and Payback for one of his Sins, the Gang Member is asked "How does it feel?" Looking at the Bare, Naked, Truth can be an Enlightening and Unsettling Encounter.